On the heels of the new Netflix series "Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story" -- which has stirred plenty of controversies -- there's a swell of public support to erect a tribute to Dahmer's victims in Milwaukee. While Mayor Cavalier Johnson is on board with that concept, we've learned he's worried about the potential for a memorial to become a mecca for Dahmer fans. Creepy, but yeah, they exist.

Mayor Johnson's communication director, Jeff Fleming, tells TMZ ... the mayor wants to do something to honor the victims' families, but Milwaukee wants to avoid creating a "ghoulish destination for troubled fans" looking for any reason to celebrate Dahmer.

The concern, we're told, is putting the victims' families through more trauma.

It's a familiar problem in Milwaukee, where Dahmer was born and raised and where many of his murders were carried out ... mainly in an apartment building that's now an empty lot.

We're told there's been a conscious effort in Milwaukee over the years to essentially scrub any connections to Dahmer -- all his belongings were burned, and even the factory where he worked has been demolished.

While the mayor's office says most of the chatter on a potential memorial is coming from the public and not from victims' families, we're told Mayor Johnson is planning on memorializing the victims and wants to work with their families to make it happen, though this is all in the very early stages.

Some folks in the community believe Milwaukee hasn't acted on a memorial because of alleged homophobia surrounding the case -- but Fleming, who covered the Dahmer case back in the day, says the delay is more about giving the community time to heal.